Animatronics was developed by The Walt Disney Company in the 1960s. An animatronic figure is a sophisticated puppet that is animated by means of electromechanical devices. The figure can be, but is not necessarily, a humanoid figure; it can be an animal or a moving object or moving scenery. Early examples of animatronics include those observed at the 1964 Worlds Fair in the New York Hall of Presidents, and at Disneyland in California. In the Hall of Presidents, an animatronic Lincoln, with all the gestures of a statesman, delivered the Gettysburg address. Body language and facial motions were matched with the recorded speech. While computer generated imagery dominates on-screen applications, theme parks and other non-screen applications rely on animatronic figures to provide realistic portrayals of human and non-human characters, moving objects, and moving scenery.
Generation of animatronic figures requires a combination of skills such as mechanical engineering, casting, sculpting, or vacuum forming, control technologies including various wireless control technologies, electrical and electronic engineering, computer code writing, and artistic skills.
Recently, advances in the animatronic arts include the use of rear projection imaging technology. Using internal projected images, a “blank” three dimensional shape can be employed as a projection screen to project a moving image that appears more realistic than a mechanically moving shape. Thus, for example, facial expressions and the like are convincingly projected through the rear of a blank screen shaped like a face, wherein the remainder of the body moves electromechanically. Faces in particular offer a wider range of expression by using rear projected “movies” played against a screen that is a three-dimensional face shape, as compared to animatronic faces that move solely via electromechanical means to form recognizable facial expressions. Rear projection imaging technology in animatronics is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,256,904.
The three-dimensional “blanks” required for the rear projection are labor intensive to form. Special screen materials that diffuse the light from the projected image in an even manner over a complicated three dimensional surface must be used. Such surfaces must be formed into complicated shapes without losing integrity and while maintaining uniform thickness and light diffusion properties. Finally, the shapes that are to be human or human-like faces are typically tinted in multiple areas using multiple shades in order to provide nuanced, life-like color to the projected image. Without tinting, skin colors are not realistically viewed as a projected image alone; a surface tint to “warm” the color is required. Tinting of facial skin tone is also required in order to provide a tone for the projected image that reasonably matches the tone of the non-illuminated parts of an animatronic figure, e.g. arms, neck, etc. Further, in tinting facial features the eye areas typically require a darker tint than the remainder of the skin area to provide an additional realistic 3D type appearance.
Tinting of a face is only one example of the complicated treatments a rear projected animatronic article may require. Other examples of tinting to aid in the overall appearance of a rear-projected animatronic article will be readily apparent to one of skill. While tinting is only one step in the process, it is a particularly labor intensive step because it currently must be done on the completed three-dimensional article. Thus, standard printers for example cannot be employed; rather, each animatronic article must be individually and carefully painted or airbrushed by a specialist. Even coating of e.g. skin tone is difficult using such techniques and requires a high degree of skill and is extremely labor intensive.
Previous attempts to print on a flat rear projection screen material have resulted in uneven distribution of ink colorant and/or noticeably cracked ink layer(s) upon thermoforming the screen material into a three-dimensional article. This provides a rear projected image display appearance that is completely unacceptable for animatronic figures.
While specialized printers that can apply inks to a three-dimensional surface can be developed, such printers are expensive and complicated. It would be desirable to print the screen projection materials prior to formation of the three-dimensional image, that is, on the flat rear projection substrate.